8.1 South Fingal transport study 2019

Fingal County Council has long recognised the important role that Dublin Airport plays in the economic and cultural development of the Country and the associated importance of safeguarding future accessibility in this regard. It is in this context that Fingal County Council has recently completed the South Fingal Transport Study (“the study”), a technical transport planning study comprising strategic transport modelling and objective assessment of potential transport infrastructure in the area around Dublin Airport.

Using the National Transport Authority’s East Regional Model, the study identifies the key transport infrastructure that is required in south Fingal, including the transport network serving Dublin Airport, to address constraints in transport capacity. These include significant improvement to public transport infrastructure and service such as the Swords Core Bus Corridor, Metrolink and increased use of shuttle bus services in the vicinity of the Airport. In support of these public transport measures are upgrades to roads infrastructure which would aid improved public transport movements. These include an upgrade to the Airport Roundabout to complement BusConnects and other bus services, the provision of a western access route to provide contingency planning and serve improved shuttle transfers from parking and lands to the west of the Airport. The study and measures to implement the outcomes are being undertaken as part of a multiagency approach in conjunction with TII and the NTA to ensure timely provision of required infrastructure in order to serve increased passenger numbers at the Airport.

The Dublin Airport LAP is underpinned and informed by the findings and recommendations of the study. The timeframe for the study is up to 2027, taken as the year of opening for the MetroLink scheme, and also incorporating the lifespan of the Dublin Airport LAP. The passenger growth forecasts used in the study are based on projected modal share and passenger numbers, and form the basis of future projected demand on the transport network in the area. Whilst it is possible that, in reality, different modal shares or passenger numbers through Dublin Airport may develop in future, on the basis of the estimated demand scenarios set out in the study, the assessment of future transport demands up to 2027 concluded that the forecast growth can be accommodated by the surface transport network, provided the recommended infrastructural measures arising from the study are provided. The level of growth provided for within the Dublin Airport LAP will take cognisance of these factors and future development will be assessed inter alia in the context of overall passenger numbers, transport demand, modal shift and impact on the transport network.

OBJECTIVE SF01

Implement the recommendations of the South Fingal Transport Study in relation to Dublin Airport in order to ensure that a balanced response to the expansion of Dublin Airport occurs. It shall be a requirement that any planning applications to increase passenger numbers or that result in an increased demand for travel, shall clearly demonstrate the required transport infrastructure and measures to accommodate the proposed increase in line with the recommendations of the South Fingal Transport Study.

OBJECTIVE SF02

Require, as part of any application that will result in increased demand for travel, the submission of a detailed transport model (based on the NTA ERM), to be undertaken in collaboration with stakeholders such as FCC, the National Transport Authority and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, in order to appropriately phase transport infrastructure requirements and the appropriate provision of car-parking as set out in the South Fingal Transport Study, relevant to the growth of Dublin Airport.